Harry Potter and the Servants Debt
by Mnementh1
Summary: A fifth year fic about Peter's debt to Harry and how that gets resolved, and Harry notices a certain redhead... My first fic
1. Prologue

**Harry Potter and the Servant's Debt**

I own nothing.  It all belongs to J.K. Rowling, who has my thanks for creating such wonderful characters and stories, and my apologies for borrowing them.  I am making no money off of this, and am writing this for the pleasure of living in her world.  I'll leave everything where I found it.  

_Prologue_

            The fog clung close to the ground in the swampland.  Low hanging trees were covered with vines and moss, and branches emerged from the murky water coated with slime.  Here and there were patches of soggy land.  On one of these, a rat emerged from the overgrown weeds and picked its way through the swamp.  The odor of swamp gas and rotting vegetation filled the rats' nose as it scampered from one patch of ground to another.  It never paused long, never lingered, as it knew that the snakes living in the disgusting water would consider him a fine meal indeed.  He wished he could transform into his human form, but it was easier to keep his footing in the slippery undergrowth as a rat. There was another, very good reason for its diligence in continuing its journey.  Its master was waiting, and it was never a good idea to keep You-Know-Who waiting.  _Still,_ the rat thought, _the snakes are enough reason._  The rat, which was indeed Wormtail, never understood why You-Know-Who always picked the gloomiest spots in England for meeting places.  Wormtail himself preferred cozy cottages where he could curl up in front of a fire and… Wormtail shut that thought down.  It was dangerously close to disloyal thoughts, and You-Know-Who punished disloyalty with a vengeance that was as cold as it was murderous.  He also had a very broad idea of what constituted disloyalty.  You-Know-Who said to meet him here, so Wormtail would meet him here.  He had to hurry.  He was nearly late, and that would not do at all.  He had information that must be delivered on time, or the Dark Lord would punish.  He was fairly certain You-Know-Who already knew the information, but Wormtail was ordered to deliver it, so Wormtail would deliver it.  He only hoped that You-Know-Who would not punish him, as the information was not good.  

****

            Harry Potter abruptly awoke and stared into the gloomy darkness of his room at #4 Privet Drive.  _Well, not HIS room,_ he thought.  The room and nearly everything in it actually belonged to his cousin Dudley.  Harry was allowed to sleep here only as there was no way he could fit into the cupboard under the stairs that had been his room until he started getting letters from Hogwarts.  Imprisoned here was more like it.  His eyes began to adjust to the darkness.  The only light came in through a small window with heavy bars in front of it.  The bars were actually to keep him from escaping.  This had been unsuccessfully tried before, but Harry had managed to escape with the help of Fred and George Weasley.  These bars, however, would probably stand the test of having a flying car pulling on them.  They were thick and heavy, and had been put in the day after Harry had returned from Hogwarts after his fourth year.  Harry heard a soft hoot from the corner of the room, where his owl, Hedwig, was locked in her cage.  As there was no way she could fit through the bars to leave the room, Harry did not understand why his uncle insisted on locking her in her cage as well.  _Probably just because he can_, he thought.  This was partially correct, as Vernon had done it not only to keep Harry's spirits down, but also to take no chances of Harry having any contact with the wizarding world.   Harry looked at his clock, and noticed it was nearly two in the morning.  He had been 15 for over three days.  His birthday was the worst ever.  The Dursleys had never so much as given Harry a cake, let alone presents, but for the past several years they had ignored it completely.  His friends from school always came through though, giving him birthday wishes, cakes, and presents.  This year was different, however, as Uncle Vernon had seen to that.  The bars on the window were far too close together to slip in anything but the occasional letter.  Fortunately, he would not have to wait much longer to see his friends.  Ron had sent him a letter explaining that Arthur and Molly, Ron's parents, would be by to pick him up on Friday.  Today!

            Later that morning his Aunt Petunia, who clearly wanted to have him do as much work as possible before he left, summoned Harry downstairs.  

            "… and the garden will be weeded, then the yard raked, and you still need to move all of Duddykins boxes from the attic!"  His aunt yelled at him.  

            "Yes, Aunt Petunia."  Harry said, for what seemed the thousandth time that morning alone.  He looked at the clock on the wall.  The Weasleys were going to be here any minute.  The Dursleys knew this, but seemed to have forgotten.  Which, of course, meant that their reaction to the unexpected arrival of the Weasleys was going to be very fun indeed.


	2. Weasleys on Parade

_A/N:  Still own nothing.  Please read and review._

Chapter Two

            Wormtail often seriously regretted the decisions he made so many years ago that turned his life in the direction it had.  Usually, he was on the ground, screaming from the cruciatus curse when having these thoughts.  Or now, trapped in his animagus form, locked in a cage.  The cage had sharp bits pointing inward, and was so small that the tiny spears pierced his body in a dozen places.  It hurt to breath, to move, and even to think.  He could not stop himself from thinking, however.  He was thinking now, for example, of when he was first approached by Voldemort.  Why hadn't he shown more backbone when he was offered power?  "That's right," Wormtail thought, "I was offered power, wasn't I?"  He could hear You-Know-Who's voice now, just as if he had heard it yesterday.  _"You will be great, Peter.  You will have power over many.  Your friends, they laugh at you now.  Will they laugh, I wonder, when you have the power to hold their destiny in the palm of your hand?"  _How much power did he have now?  He wasn't in charge of anything.  Nobody answered to him.  All the things promised to him years ago by Voldemort just never came true.  "How Sirius would laugh if he saw me now," Wormtail agonized. 

            "Well, Wormtail," a high pitched, creepy voice called out.  It sounded deceptively good-natured.  "Have we learned what happens to those who fail me?  Have we learned what happens to those who question their loyalty to me?"  Wormtail shivered with fear, causing the spears to push themselves even further into his body.    It was as if the Dark Lord could read his thoughts!  He could, in his rat form, do nothing more than squeak.  This appeared to satisfy Voldemort as, with a wave of his hand, the cage surrounding Wormtail splintered into pieces.  Falling to the ground (which was six feet down from where he had hung, ouch!)  Wormtail transformed into is human form.  His body was bloodied and bruised from the spears, and the curses that had hit him before being put into the cage.  Wormtail crawled to the Dark Lord's feet.

            "Please forgive me, my Lord."  He whimpered.  "I tried to get to him, but he is always surrounded by his family!"

            "Silence, fool!"  Voldemort screamed.  "I will hear no more of your failure!  It is too late now to make another attempt, even if I were to give the task to a more competent servant.  Now we must wait yet again!"  He paced around the room, glaring at the death eaters who were standing in a semi circle around the room.  All were looking at their feet, all remembering times they had failed their master, and all were hoping punishment was not dished out yet again.  You-Know-Who was not very forgiving.  

            The doorbell rang, and Vernon Dursley froze.  He had a horrified look on his face as he remembered what had been told to him two weeks ago.  Dudley remembered as well, apparently, for he squeaked and ran for the back door.  The house shook on its foundation from the impact of his feet, and Harry wondered where his enormous cousin had found the energy to move so fast.  Harry opened the door, and grinned as a sea of redheads paraded into the room.  Uncle Vernon was turning purple as he saw how many freaks were entering his house uninvited.  

            "Hey, Harry!  How was your summer?" said one boy, tall and wearing a maroon shirt.  Harry had time only to say "Hi Ron," before the redhead was pushed aside by two redheads who were dressed in extremely odd clothing.  Their clothes changed colors in a dazzling, kaleidoscope display.  From red all the way to black, then blue to yellow, now purple… the robes were giving Vernon a headache.  The twins' behavior was even more odd.   

            "Harry, my good man, smashing to see you again," said one.  He was bowing so low Vernon wondered he didn't scrape his nose on the floor!  The other performed a bow even more acrobatically impressive.

            "We are at your service, your lordship.  Where might we find your baggage, so that your valiant journey may begin at once?"  Vernon started shaking his head in disbelief.  

            "Out of the way, you gits!" exclaimed a redheaded girl. She was the shortest of the lot.  She pushed her way past the dizzyingly attired twins and gave Harry a hug.  The twins grinned and chuckled like two maniacs as they charged up the stairs to get Harry's things.  As the girl hugged him, Harry seemed to turn almost as red as her hair.  Vernon was beyond that shade.

"Sorry were late, but Gred and Forge delayed us getting the charms on their robes right."  Said yet another redhead entering the room.  This one was tall, sporting what looked like leather moccasins and a major suntan.  

"Hello, Charlie" said Harry.  "How are the dragons?"  Did he just hear Harry say dragons?  Vernon wondered to himself.  He started to sputter as he desperately tried to say something, anything, but his mouth and brain did not seem to be connected.  One more redhead entered the house, a man who was dressed in clothes that were decidedly different from the other redheads.  He had long red hair, and a fang dangled from one ear!  He looked like he was going to a dance club immediately after departing.  Departing seemed like a good idea to Vernon, as he heard a pop.  It must have been his brain exploding.  He turned to escape to the kitchen, the only place not crawling with redheads, and was stunned to find one more redhead standing in front of him!  

"Are you ready, Harry?"  Asked the redhead, rather pompously.

"Sure am, Percy," replied Harry.  Vernon was muttering to himself now, desperately trying to find somewhere in the house not occupied by insane redheads. 

"Redheads, redheads," he kept repeating to himself.  He was backing into the dining room, as the kitchen was now obviously invaded with them.  There were redheads everywhere!  He felt his mind going numb with rage.  He was now so purple that he was almost black in the face.  

"Redheads!" he screamed!  Everyone stopped greeting Harry and just started at him, as if he were the crazy one.  "Redheads!" he yelled again, and they all scattered, running into the living room, taking Harry with them.  With a wave of a wand, the electric fireplace was once again blasted all over the room!  Someone did something, Vernon could not tell what, and flames roared, and then turned emerald green.  A repeat of last years events took place as, one by one, they started to walk into the fire and yell "The Burrow!"  With a whooshing noise they disappeared.

"See you next summer!" Harry yelled.  Whoosh!  He was gone.  Now all that remained were the two twins and the fussy looking young man.  With a grin to each other, the twins bowed to Vernon, as actors would when finished with a performance.  Then they too were gone.  The last remaining redhead fixed the fireplace, and then with a pop, he was gone.

"Redheads."  Whimpered Vernon.  "Redheads."  He was now curling up on the floor, and that is how Petunia found him an hour later when she came home from shopping.  


End file.
